How to Set Up Electronic Payments in Aspire

Overview

Aspire integrates with Fiserv to process credit card and ACH (eCheck) electronic payments. Before you can process payments in Aspire, set up an account with Fiserv and then contact AspireCare to enable the integration. Once it's active, you can store payment methods on billing contact records, add them during payment creation, and allow customers to manage their own payment methods through the Customer Portal.

This article walks you through the full setup process, from signing up with Fiserv, to configuring payment methods across all areas in Aspire.

Things to know

• Aspire partners with Fiserv for all electronic payment processing. During the Fiserv enrollment process, you'll receive a merchant ID, username, and password. Aspire uses these credentials to connect with Fiserv.

• If you start with credit cards and later add ACH, you don’t need to complete additional setup in Aspire. You'll only complete the ACH enrollment on the Fiserv side, and ACH processing becomes available automatically.

• Once electronic payments are enabled:

  • The electronic payment options in the Customer Portal become active.

  • The Electronic Payments tab on the Application > Configuration screen becomes available. Your system admin uses this tab to configure electronic payment settings.

  • On the Contact screen, the Payment Methods tab becomes available for any contacts whose contact type isn't Employee or Sub. This tab allows you to view, create, or edit payment methods (credit/debit or ACH) for your individual customers. Customers can also set up payment methods directly through the Customer Portal.

• After you update user roles with electronic payment permissions, you'll need to log out and log back in to see the new options.

Keep reading to learn more, or watch the training video!

Training Video

After you’ve watched this video, read our article about Understanding Electronic Payments.

Requirements

• System administrators need to update user roles in Administration > User Management.

• To process and manage electronic payments, the following permissions must be added to your user role: Process Electronic Payments, Void Electronic Payments, Refund Electronic Payments, Expiring Payment Methods Alerts, and/or Rejected Payment Alerts.

• Billing contacts must have a contact type that isn't Employee or Sub.

Steps

Sign up for the Fiserv integration

Before you set up payment methods in Aspire, create an account with Fiserv.

1. Go to our Fiserv partnership page to start the enrollment process, or submit a case with AspireCare to start your request.

2. Choose the processing types you need: credit card, ACH, or both.

3. Complete the enrollment steps.

4. Work with AspireCare to finish enabling electronic payments in your Aspire system.

Note

If you sign up for credit cards first and decide to add ACH later, you won't need any additional setup in Aspire. Complete the ACH enrollment with Fiserv, and ACH payment processing becomes available in your system automatically.

Update user roles

Once your integration is active, update your user roles so the right people on your team can process electronic payments.

1. Go to Administration > User Management.

2. Select the role you want to update.

3. Select the electronic payment permissions that apply to this role:

   • Process Electronic Payments

   • Void Electronic Payments

   • Refund Electronic Payments

   • Expiring Payment Methods Alerts

   • Rejected Payment Alerts

4. Select Save.

5. Log out of Aspire and log back in. The new electronic payment sections and options won't appear until you start a new session.

Tip

At least one role on your team should have all five permissions selected. You can customize who handles processing versus voids or refunds by splitting permissions across different roles.

Add a payment method on a billing contact record

The billing contact record stores a customer’s payment information. The Payment Methods tab is available on any contact record whose contact type isn't Employee or Sub.  Use these steps to set up a payment method for a customer.

1. Open the contact record for the billing contact.

   1. Verify that the contact type isn't set to Employee or Sub. If it is, the Payment Methods section won't appear.

2. In the Payment Methods section, select New.

3. In the Payment Type menu, select either Credit or ACH/echeck.

For credit card payments:

4. Enter the card number in the Card Number field.

5. Enter the CVV in the CVV field.

6. Enter the expiration date in the Expiration Date field.

Note

Once you save a card, only the last four digits display on the record. The full card number isn't visible after saving — this protects your customer's payment information.

For ACH payments:

7. Enter the routing number, followed by a backslash ( \ ), followed by the account number in the routing and account number field.

Important

You must include a backslash between the routing number and account number. Without it, the payment won't verify correctly. For example, enter "123456789\987654321".

For both payment types, configure these settings:

8. Select the Default Payment Method checkbox if this is your customer's primary payment method. At least one payment method must be set as the default.

9. Review the Use Default Billing Information checkbox. If the person who pays the invoices is different from the billing contact, clear this checkbox. When cleared, additional fields appear where you can enter the cardholder's name and billing address.

10. Select Save.

Turn on electronic receipts (optional):

After you save a payment method, a toggle appears on the billing contact record for electronic receipts. If the customer wants to receive payment receipts by email, turn on the Electronic Receipts toggle. A confirmation prompt appears. Select Confirm to turn on receipts.

Add a payment method during payment creation

You can also add a payment method while creating a new payment. This is helpful for one-time payments, like when a customer wants to use a gift card.

1. Create a new payment. In the quick menu, add information for the new payment by contact, company, or invoice number.

   1. For this example, search by contact and select "Camilla".

2. In the Payment Method menu, select Add New Payment Method.

3. The same payment method form from the billing contact record appears, with one addition: a Remember Card checkbox.

   • If this is a one-time payment, clear the Remember Card checkbox. The card won't be saved to the customer's record.

   • If you want to keep this payment method on file, select the Remember Card checkbox.

4. Complete the card or ACH details and configure the default and billing information settings as described in the previous section.

5. Select Save and continue with the payment steps.

Tip

The one-time payment option keeps the customer's payment method list clean. Use it for gift cards or other cards that don't need to stay on file.

Set up payment methods in the Customer Portal

If your company uses the Customer Portal, you can allow customers to add and manage their own payment methods. This requires some configuration in the administrator settings first.

To learn more about the Customer Portal, click here to read our Customer Portal articles.

Tips

• At least one payment method on a billing contact record must be set as the default. This is required for other payment features in Aspire to work correctly.

• If you service employees who also need to pay invoices, create a separate contact record for them with their personal email address and a contact type that isn't Employee or Sub. This keeps their personal payment information separate from their employee record.

• Use the one-time payment option during payment creation to avoid saving temporary cards (like gift cards) to a customer's record.

• Set minimum and maximum payment limits in the Customer Portal to match any transaction limits you've configured with Fiserv.

Expected results

After completing the setup, the following changes in Aspire appear:

• The Electronic Payments tab on the Application Configuration screen is available for system administrators to configure payment settings.

• Electronic payment permissions appear in Administration > User Management for the appropriate roles.

• Customers with customer portal accounts can view, add, and manage their payment methods from the Manage Payments screen in the Customer Portal.

• Saved cards display only the last four digits.